Fortnite has taken off as one of gaming’s premier titles with the launch of its Battle Royale mode, and it is making one significant change in its latest Map Update. Friendly fire will be a thing of the past for Fortnite: Battle Royale players, at least temporarily. Epic Games said in their official patch notes that the move is “exploratory and subject to change.”
Obviously, the main attraction of Update V2.2.0 is the addition of several new locations to enhance the diversity of the open world environment. Epic Games also released a brief teaser video showcasing the new hotspots. Check it out below:
Epic Games also announced several Battle Pass bonuses, including a five-tier head start when you pick up the Season 2 Battle Pass. Voice chat has also been added to the pre-game lobby, so if you want to chat with your fellow competitors or lay down some friendly smack talk, you can do so now.
For the full list of Patch notes, you can head over to Page 2.
WEAPONS
- Removed the Scoped AR from Supply Drops.
- Updated the scope for the Scoped AR.
- Replaced the old arrow reticle with a more modern design. It should be easier to tell where you are aiming and where your crosshair actually is.
- The Snowball Launcher has been replaced by the normal Grenade Launcher.
- Slightly increased the size of the grenade (loot).
Bug Fixes
- Fixed frag and smoke grenades exploding on impact when hitting shallow water.
- Fixed an issue where the grenade toss animation ended prematurely when tossing the last grenade in a stack.
- The Boogie Bomb effect will now kick players out of weapon targeting.
- Players can no longer place traps while affected by the Boogie Bomb.
- Explosion effects now play properly on water surfaces.
GAMEPLAY
- Friendly Fire is now disabled. This is exploratory and subject to change. We will be closely evaluating this and want your feedback!
- Players will now immediately aim their weapon upon landing on the ground if they press and hold the aim button while in the air.
- Pickups no longer take priority over reviving DBNO squad members.
- Empty chests and metal street lights will no longer block players from building.
- Corn stalks are now destroyed upon taking any damage.
Bug Fixes
- Adjusted how ammo crates drop ammo so that they don’t overlap the ammo box itself.
- Attempting to use a scope while playing an emote will now cancel the animation.
- Fixed an issue that prevented players from picking up eliminated player’s items.
- Fixed a few issues which caused supply drops to pass through player built structures.
- Fixed an issue which caused a trap to deal no damage if a ramp or roof is placed in front of the trap.
- Build mode visuals no longer persist when using a Launch Pad or when knocked into the DBNO state.
- Fixed an issue that allowed players to see through the smoke grenade effect while scoped.
- You can now move forward and backward while gliding when facing straight up and down.
- The Cozy Campfire trap no longer heals eliminated players.
- Fixed an issue which caused the glider to sometimes deploy sideways after using a launchpad.
WORLD
- The map has been updated with many new points of interest, biomes, and more!
- Players now interact with grass and foliage as they walk through it.
- Added water effects when entering and exiting water.
- Added a new post-process effect for when your camera goes below the water surface.
- It will now look like you are actually underwater, and you can no longer see for an infinite distance.
- Added Ammo Boxes to Dusty Depot.
- Increased the amount of metal harvested from shipping containers.
Bug Fixes
- Water no longer blocks bullets and projectiles.
ITEM SHOP
- Starting on January 17th, 2018 players should see six daily store slots instead of four.
- Starting on January 21st, 2018 the Weekly Item shop is changing to the Featured Item Shop.
- Offers will update twice weekly instead of once.
UI
- Sniper elimination feed messages now include elimination distance in meters.
- When spectating a far away player, a “loading” message may be displayed for a short time, and the game world will appear after loading completes. You cannot switch to another spectated player until the load completes.
- The “Reset Building Choice” option now defaults to “Off” in Battle Royale.
- Added a new option to select which voice chat input device to use.
Bug Fixes
- The “Select Mode” button is now greyed out and unselectable after readying up.
When selecting “Report Player” the “Name” field will no longer auto-fill the the player’s own name. - Adjusted the “Cancel/Unready” button so it looks more like the “Ready” button.
- The “Press E to Pickup” prompt no longer persists for DBNO players.
- Fixed an issue that made the voice chat icon appear to be active if the player disabled their voice chat while it was active.
- Fixed an issue which caused the revive icon to remain over a player if two players revived them at the same time.
- Players will now be able to unready if the party leader cancels matchmaking while in the “Loading Content” phase.
- The matchmaking UI will now properly update when joining a different Battle Royale lobby while the user is set to Ready.
- Fixed local user always showing up in the global leaderboard with 0 wins if they aren’t in the global top 50 list.
PERFORMANCE
- Added level streaming, which loads the world on-the-fly as you move around, enabling a richer map and improved performance.
- Improved frame rate by greatly reducing the number of objects that need to be updated.
- Loading times have been greatly improved. It’s over twice as fast to load into the match on PS4 and Xbox One!
- Loading content before matchmaking now completes quicker.
- Greatly reduced hitching when garbage collecting memory every minute.
- Greatly reduced hitching caused by updating objects when the time of day changes from day to night, and vice-versa.
- Reduced the amount of system and GPU memory used.
- Optimized the visual effects played when distant buildings are hit.
- Improved overall frame rate by optimizing how player animation and footsteps are handled.
- Cozy Campfire and Boogie Bomb items no longer cause a hitch when seen the first time in a match.
- Encountering players with specific skins for the first time in a match no longer causes a hitch.
ART/ANIMATION
- Greatly improved the visual quality of distant trees by using impostor billboards instead of regular meshes. This also improves overall frame rate and reduces visual popping as you approach the trees.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue that could cause remote players to look like they have stopped animating.
- Improved the “Ride the Pony” animation so the character’s arm no longer pops.
- Players will no longer appear as if they are still holding a weapon after being hit by a Boogie Bomb.
- Fixed an issue that prevented the character’s launch animation from playing if a Launch Pad is placed directly at a player’s feet.
- Adjusted the color of the Shield Potion so that’s easier to see.
- Fixed an issue that caused teammates to appear stuck in the sliding animation if they were knocked DBNO while in the air or sliding.
- Cozy Campfire special effects are now visible on low and medium settings.
AUDIO
- Added new audio for pickaxes that were previously using default swing sounds.
- Added a pick-up sound effect for the damage trap.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue which caused footstep sounds to play at an incorrect cadence or not at all while a player is not on screen.
- Consumable item audio is now adjusted with the SFX volume slider rather than the Dialogue slider.
- Fixed an issue which caused players to hear bullet “whiz-by” sounds from their own shots.
- Fixed an issue that sometimes caused a falling wind sound to loop repeatedly after being eliminated.
- Gunfire audio will no longer pan to the left & right as you move away from where you shot.
- Reduced volume of consumable pick-up sounds.
- Reduced volume of collection sound when harvesting wood.
- Fixed issues with rapid left/right panning when dropping weapons, and attempting to build in an invalid location.
- Removed the jarring stone impact sound from the AC/DC pickaxe.
GENERAL
- Voice chat now supported in the pre-game lobby.
- Cosmetic items can now be rotated in the locker and store pages. Left click and drag or use the right thumbstick on the controller to rotate them.
- Removed the winter theme from the pre-game lobby.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue which allowed players to get credit for completing challenges that were not completed.
- Fixed an issue which allowed aim assist to function while using a mouse.
- Friend requests can now be sent to players that have left the match, using the + icon next to their name.
- Clicking “Join” on a Discord invite when the client is not open would will no longer cause you to fail when trying to join a party.